Number Portability: Calling Cell C
MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY (MNP) has been less than a resounding success, with only Cell C of South Africa’s three cellular networks considering it worthwhile. While the media hype that surrounded the launch of MNP – which allows cellular subscribers to move from one service provider or network to another without having to sacrifice their phone number – has subsided, questions remain as to how widely used the service is.
According to the Mobility 2007 report (released late last year by SA research house World Wide Worx) the number of subscribers willing to port remained stable between 2006 and 2007. The research showed only 10% of respondents indicated they were considering porting their number in the following year.
Those low figures are in all likelihood contributing to the complacency of both MTN and Vodacom. While both are officially supportive of MNP, they feel it has little impact. Vodacom group communications manager Dot Field insists the notion that Vodacom has lost a significant number of subscribers since the launch of MNP is incorrect. “The proportion of customers porting away from our network is minuscule, at least when compared to the number of new customers signing up.”
Ray Webber, spokesman for the Communication Users’ Association of SA, backs the view of both major players, stopping just short of calling the process a flop. “Lower tariffs alone aren’t a big enough incentive to get the consumer to switch,” says Webber.
The lone voice in MNP’s corner is SA’s smallest operator – Cell C. It was the only operator willing to provide Finweek with figures. Cell C claims to have gained 54 595 additional subscribers, against a loss of 21 419, since the launch of MNP. Cell C corporate communications head Shenandan van Rensburg says: “MNP is a means to an end and not an end in itself. While we’re attracting new subscribers to our stable, we’re also offering people the ability to switch without losing their number – which is an attractive proposition.”
Telecoms analyst Arthur Goldstuck concurs with Van Rensburg, saying Cell C will over the long term emerge as the biggest beneficiary. Says Goldstuck: “The high prevalence of churn among Vodacom and MTN subscribers makes it difficult for them to notice the loss. But MNP has augmented Cell C’s subscriber drive.”
The additional customer retention strategies implemented by Vodacom and MTN over the past year are another indication that they’re losing subscribers to Cell C. “The number of customer loyalty programmes introduced by the old guard points to an increase in the level of competition,” says Goldstuck.
Finweek
Loading ...